Elvis Blog Archives — June 2009

Entry #65: Posted June 4, 2009
Elvis Wasn't the Only Fifties Teen Idol Who Tried to Make It in Hollywood

It has long been fashionable in Hollywood, and even among many of his own fans, to belittle Elvis Presley’s movie career. Certainly, many of his films, especially those in the mid to late sixties, were artistically challenged. However, Elvis was a bankable star in Hollywood during his entire thirteen-year run in pictures. All 31 of his vehicles made a profit, and he walked away from the industry on his own terms.

Elvis was certainly not the first entertainer who sought to parlay success as a singer into a Hollywood career. Bing Crosby in the 1930s and Frank Sinatra in the 1940s are the ultimate early examples of singers who went on to achieve great success in pictures. However, there were many other crooners in the pre-rock ’n’ roll era who tried but failed to make the transition to the big screen. They included Perry Como, Dick Haymes, Vic Damone, and Johnnie Ray, all of whom made ill-fated attempts at Hollywood stardom.

Elvis was the first rock ’n’ roller to achieve success in Hollywood, and his early triumphs with films like Jailhouse Rock and King Creole caused studio execs to search out other young male singers of the late fifties as possible leading men. Like Crosby and Sinatra before him, however, Presley was the only singer of his generation to enjoy a long and profitable career in films. Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Darin, and Ricky Nelson were among the recording stars of the early rock ’n’ roll era who had some success in Hollywood, only to fade quickly from the scene.

Early on, Pat Boone was Presley’s biggest rival, both on the record charts and on the movie screen. Singing mostly ballads, the clean-cut Boone was the second biggest selling recording artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis. In his first movie, 1957’s Bernadine, 20th Century Fox handled Boone the same way it did Elvis in his initial film, Love Me Tender, the year before. To compensate for their modest acting ability, both young heartthrobs were surrounded by more experienced actors (Richard Eagan and Mildred Dunnock in Love Me Tender ; Natalie Schafer and Janet Gaynor in Bernadine).

Bernadine was a hit at the box office, and when Boone’s second film, April Love, also cashed in, it allowed Boone to finish ahead of Presley on the theater owners’ list of “Money Making Stars” of 1957. Boone was third and Presley fourth, trailing only Rock Hudson and John Wayne.

Even with his chief rival for the youth market away in the army for two years, Boone was unable to keep up the momentum. In 1959 he played an ensemble part in Disney’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. His next big role was in Fox’s remake of State Fair in 1962. In that one Boone was completely eclipsed by costar Ann-Margret, who would give Elvis all he could handle two years later in Viva Las Vegas. Concentrating on gospel music in the 1960s, Pat Boone appeared only occasionally in films. While Elvis churned out two movies per years during the decade, Boone’s career film appearances total just a dozen movies to date.

Ricky Nelson, who came on the scene as a singing teen idol in 1957, seemed a natural for film work, considering he had grown up in front of the camera on the his family’s weekly television series. Like Elvis, Nelson made his film debut in a Western, 1959’s Rio Bravo, in which he received equal billing with costars John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Angie Dickinson. Although the film was a big hit, Nelson seemed out of place in it.

The next year he was cast alongside Jack Lemmon in The Wackiest Ship in the Army. After that off-beat film, Nelson vanished from Hollywood until 1965, when he appeared with his wife, Kristen Harmon, in the forgettable, Love and Kisses. In a fate shared by many of his American contemporaries, Ricky Nelson’s Hollywood career, along with his recording career, took a nosedive into mediocrity with the arrival on the scene of The Beatles in the mid-sixties.

When Elvis entered the army in early 1958, it created a vacuum at the top of the music charts that was filled by three young and handsome heartthrobs from Philadelphia—Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and Bobby Rydell. All put recordings near the top of the charts and later took their chances in Hollywood. Avalon is best remembered for a series of “beach blanket” teen films: Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1966), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). After the format faded away, so did Avalon, who was reduced to taking odd show biz jobs and playing the oldies circuit.

Fabian’s movie career began with The Hound Dog Man, a moderately successful film in 1959. It earned him a major role alongside John Wayne and Stewart Granger in 1960’s North to Alaska. Despite turning in a credible performance in the film, Fabian’s Hollywood star quickly faded. In 1962 he had a bit part in The Longest Day, but thereafter was reduced to taking roles in B movies. One of them was Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, a 1966 Italian spy-spoof film starring Vincent Price. It has since become a bit of a cult classic.

Bobby Rydell seemed to have hit the jackpot when he landed the role of Ann-Margret’s boyfriend in Columbia Pictures’ 1962 big screen version of the musical Bye, Bye Birdie. Rydell’s film career, however, suffered the same fate as Pat Boone’s, when Ann-Margret stole the movie, making him and everyone else in the cast forgettable. Bye, Bye Birdie was both the beginning and the end of Bobby Rydell’s Hollywood career. In recent years, Avalon, Fabian, and Rydell, billing themselves as “The Golden Boys,” have toured together, each reprising their fifties hits.

Of all the late-fifties pop singers, Bobby Darin showed the most promise in Hollywood. He broke on the pop scene in 1958 with his hit recording of “Splish, Splash.” Two years later he married “teen queen” actress Sandra Dee, and together they starred in the comedy film, Come September. Two years later his Hollywood career took a step forward with a fine dramatic role as a Nazi mental patient in Pressure Point, and in 1963 he was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Captain Newman, M.D. However, personal problems and heart disease slowed his career. He died at the young age of 37 in 1973.

While many contemporary pop singers had spotty careers in Hollywood, Elvis Presley enjoyed continued success in 31 films over 13 years from 1956-1969. The film industry found the light musical comedy formula that worked for him, and Elvis rode that format until he walked away from Hollywood in 1969 to resume his concert career. His detractors will always downplay his role in movies, but there is no doubt that among all the pop singers of the late 1950s who tried their luck in movies, Elvis topped them all by a mile. What Crosby and Sinatra were to Hollywood in the thirties and forties, Presley was in the 1950s—the young pop phenom whose success in the recording studio catapulted him to stardom in tinsel town. (Source: “Elvis and Company” by Patrick Agan, Hollywood Studio Magazine, April 1986) — Alan Hanson

Entry #66: Posted June 11, 2009
Own a Piece of the American Dream—Two of the King's Cars Go Up for Sale

Elvis collectibles is something I never thought I’d write about in this space. This is, after all, Elvis-History-Blog.com, and I started it to deal with the man’s history, not peripheral subjects like collectibles. It would be different if Elvis had been a collector, but he wasn’t. What about the cars and the jewelry, you say? Elvis was an accumulator of those items, not a collector. He accumulated cars and rings, got tired of them, and just gave them away.

Recently, however, I came across a catalog that listed three high-end Elvis items for sale at a live auction. The nature of the items speaks to the kind of person Elvis was, and so falls within the subject of Elvis “history,” to which this blog is devoted. With that disclaimer, let’s enter the world of pricey Elvis collectibles.

The catalog listing the Elvis items was issued by Kruse International for its “18th Annual Spring Motorfair Auction” on May 28-31, 2009, in Auburn, Indiana. The catalog listed hundreds of vintage automobiles and a handful of jewelry items, but I was intrigued by just one listing in the auction—lot #752.1—“Elvis Presley Memorabilia, Sold as a Set of Three.”

The lead item in the set was a 1968 “Gold” Fleetwood Eldorado. The listing claimed “Elvis owned this car longer than any other, then gave it to his father-in-law.” Of course, that would be Priscilla Presley’s step-father, Paul Beaulieu. I last read about the 80+-year-old retired Air Force colonel four years ago, when he and his wife were living in Brentwood, California. It could be, then, that Beaulieu put Elvis’s Eldorado up for auction, but it’s more likely that it’s had other owners since Elvis first disposed of it.

What makes this particular automobile more desirable to collectors than other vehicles the King owned is that Elvis left his mark on the car. The catalog explained: “This rare car was personally shot by Elvis one day when it would not start and still shows the bullet hole in the vehicle.” Sure enough, a close look at the photo of the car in the auction catalog reveals a hole in the front fender on the passenger side. I can almost hear Elvis say, “Stand back boys. I’ll learn this son-of-a-bitch not to start when I turn the key!” I wonder if the bullet is still lodged somewhere in the engine block.

The second item in the lot was a “1962 Lockheed Jetstar JT 12-5,” described as “Elvis’s last owned private jet.” The catalog’s photo of the plane seems to show it surrounded by weeds on an abandoned runway somewhere. Apparently it hasn’t been flown in years. Finally, the lot included an Elvis ring, said to have been “worn during shows.” The bauble appears to have 23 diamonds of varying sizes crammed into a circular setting.

When I first saw that the three items were being sold as a lot, I couldn’t imagine that anyone would make a bid that would meet the reserve (minimum bid) that surely must have been placed on the lot. I could see someone wanting the car and the ring, but what would anyone do with an old private jet that doesn’t fly? I doubt that neighbors would approve of it being permanently parked in the owner’s driveway.

When I checked the auction results a few days ago, however, I was surprised to find the lot had indeed sold. I was even more surprised to see that there was no minimum bid required on the Elvis lot. That means you and I could have thrown in together and bid $3.75 or so, and if no one else bid, the car, jet, and ring would have been ours. The winning bid was much higher—$600,000. The name of winning bidder was not revealed.

Now, I’m not qualified to say whether or not the buyer got a good deal for his $600,000. I would suspect he or she did in this ailing economy. Interestingly enough, there is another Elvis automobile for sale right now on eBay. It’s a 1974 Cadillac, described as follows on its eBay profile:

“This one of a kind automobile that was originally purchased buy Elvis Presley for his personal use. He and his special family and friends used drove the vehicle for pleasure and local tours in the Memphis area. This 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham only 17,000 original miles and has all the Cadillac special options. Specifically It’s many options include: Elvis’s choice of Special white leather interior, custom sunroof, custom front grill and hood ornament and safety/security features. Adding to its singular distinction among celebrity auto, it was used in Elvis’s funeral motorcade, as seen in video of that memorable passing.”

(From the grammar and mechanics of that paragraph, I’m guessing the seller is a former member of the Memphis Mafia.)

Although the car is valued at over $1 million dollars, according to the seller, you can have it today on eBay for the giveaway price of only $599,000. That couldn’t be much of a bargain, though, considering the buyer of Elvis’s 1968 Eldorado at auction got the car, plus a private jet and a big, honkin’ diamond ring, for only $1,000 more. And let’s not forget the added value to the car of that bullet hole.

When you think about it, Elvis-related cars are not rare. He surely owned dozens of cars during his lifetime. Then there were dozens of other cars he purchased for friends, family, and even strangers. So what are you really getting if you have the long green it takes to buy an Elvis car these days? I suppose you could drive it around town, but who would do that? No one would recognize it as an Elvis car, unless you put a sign on the roof. And just imagine the cost of insurance to operate on the road a car valued at $600,000.

No, it’s really more than just a vintage automobile. It’s also a symbol of the American Dream. Growing up poor, Elvis dreamed of owning a nice car but never really believed it would happen. But the dream came true for him, not just once, but dozens of times. However, in addition to the bright side, there’s also a dark side to the American Dream. In 1956 Elvis sat by the side of the road and sadly watched as his first Cadillac burned up. I’m betting that none of the other cars he owned in his lifetime was as special to him as that first one. Certainly not that 1968 Eldorado that he pumped a bullet into just because it wouldn’t start.— Alan Hanson

Entry #67: Posted June 18, 2009
Creative Reporter Covered Elvis's 1957 Show in Tacoma, Washington

On Sunday, September 1, 1957, Elvis Presley took the stage for a concert in Tacoma, Washington. It was the middle stop on his five-city tour of the Pacific Northwest. The crowd of a little over 4,000 was by far the smallest he faced that Labor Day weekend. Those who were there, however, were fortunate to experience Elvis’s most intimate show of the year. First of all, the venue was the Lincoln Bowl, a cosy high school athletic field with close-in seating that offered all spectators good viewing angles of the stage. The 2 p.m. show time was also a plus. It was one of Elvis’s few outdoor daylight appearances of the year, and that, along with Presley’s closeness to the crowd, created perfect conditions for camera-toting teens. Finally, by all accounts, Elvis held nothing back in his performance, even though the crowd was small and he had another show scheduled that night in Seattle.

The following morning, before catching the train for Portland, Elvis sat in his Seattle hotel room reading reviews of his Tacoma and Seattle performances the afternoon and evening before. When he finished, he took the time to place a personal call to Dan Duncan of the Tacoma News Tribune. Elvis told Duncan that his review of the Tacoma show was “the best article ever written about me.”

Certainly, Duncan’s morning-after review of Presley’s Tacoma show was well written, balanced, and humorous. But it’s not that article I’d like to share with you this week. Below is another article Duncan wrote about Elvis’s Tacoma appearance. This one appeared in the Tribune a week later, on September 8, 1957. It was tucked out of the way at the bottom of page B-5. It is one of the most unique and entertaining articles I’ve ever read about Elvis. In my Elvis ’57 book I quote a few passages from the article, but here it is in its entirety.

(Note: Duncan intentionally used all lower case letters in his article, since the autograph he received from Elvis read, “elvis presley,” without capitals.)

elvis nice to press, dazzler with girls

memo to the boss:

well call me a old houn’ dog if i didn’t get to stand just as close to elvis presley as i do to you when you aren’t waving those darn copy shears around.

since a lot of folks have sidled up to me in the past few days and asked for the plain, unvarnished truth about old sideburns hisself, i figured i’d let you in on all the secrets i learned.

first off, this elvis has all his own hair and don’t let anybody tell you it’s a wig or those sideburns are painted on, and when those locks fell down on his forehead and he had to peek through them like veronica lake did before she went out of style, that was the real elvis.

elvis is real nice and easy with the press and a real dazzler with the young girls who managed to get into his dressing room on the strength of being fan club officers or something like that.

he’s quick on the uptake, too. i asked him if it was true that he flunked his army physical and wasn’t going to be called into the service and have his hair cut off gi-style, and all that, and he answered, “well hardly, sir. shucks, I passed it all right.”

when elvis put his arms around one of his teenage fans i thought a riot was in the making. the other girls closed in so fast, he could hardly breathe and he’s no midget.

i got elvis’ autograph. yes, indeed. i did along with all the policemen on the tacoma force and all the radio and photography boys. it says, “thanks, elvis presley,” although for the life of me i can’t figure why he wanted to thank me before i even wrote the story.

well, the music was really the thing out there at lincoln bowl, and make no mistake about it this boy elvis could have taught dr. goebbels a thing or two about mass psychology.

this rock ’n’ roll business has a real slugging beat that twists your insides all around and sets up some sort of chemical action that comes out in foot-tapping and screams. since i am too old to be screaming at 22-year-old singers, especially when they aren’t girls, i just fixed a silly grin on my face and it served the purpose.

somebody with elvis’ troupe came up and looked at that grin and said, “he’s great, isn’t he? gets under your skin, doesn’t he? tremendous show, isn’t it?” i just kept right on grinning and he walked off satisfied.

the next day after my story was in the paper i got a long distance telephone call and the operator said hold on a minute, mr. presley is calling you. i figured he was mad or something and i looked for a place to hide, but there wasn’t anything to do but stand there and take it like a man.

he came on the line, elvis did, and instead of tearing me apart he said nice things about the story and how it was the best ever written on him and how he wanted to be sure and see me the next time he’s in town. this should boost my stock considerably with some of my teenage nieces and nephews who are inclined to look upon old uncle don as a real square.

i been sharpening up on my ukulele and i’ve got houn’ dog down pretty good, so that should show them.

right now, i’ve got a problem, though. this elvis presley autograph is sitting on my dresser and not doing anybody much good. for all i know the paper still has his fingerprints on it and they could be brought out by any good crime lab.

should i send it to the smithsonian institute or to poor old cousin harry who married a hula dancer.

sincerely, don duncan.

Entry #68: Posted June 18, 2009
Let's Stop Blaming Colonel Parker for Elvis's Disappointing Movies

This week’s blog is a reaction to a recent posting by my fellow blogger Phil Arnold on his popular web site, ElvisBlog. The title of Phil’s June 6th weekly blog reads “Colonel Parker’s Secret Rules for Elvis Scriptwriters.” Phil then proceeded to list seven rules that the Colonel insisted be followed by those who wrote movie scripts for Elvis during his career. I smelled a rat as soon as I started reading the list, since I knew Parker never had, nor wanted to have, any control over the scripts for Elvis’s movies. Sure enough, at the end of list, Phil fessed up that he was just pulling our legs. He admitted that Colonel Parker never had such a list of rules, and the ones Phil had just presented were based on a blog article he had read five years ago.

Still, Phil’s posting is indicative of a myth that has long been believed by Elvis fans, that being that Elvis could have been a great actor in serious roles if only Colonel Parker had not forced him to continually make silly, second-rate films. Now, I want to make it clear that I’m not an apologist for the Colonel. On a personal level, it’s clear that he could be, and often was, a jerk. It’s known that he mistreated Tom Diskin, his personal assistant, for years, and many others have testified to Parker’s overbearing and arrogant attitude.

However, on the charge that he meddled in the writing of Elvis’s movie scripts, I feel compelled to come to the Colonel’s defense. A January 1964 article in Variety explained the nature of the contracts that Elvis and his manager signed with the Hollywood studios:

“The Presley-Parker tandem is one of the few star-powered forces in Hollywood which limits its demands to cash. Once a deal is made, the studio takes complete control of a film, the Presley camp having no say-so on cast, script or production costs.”

In the same article, Parker stated his philosophy concerning these “no say-so” Hollywood contracts. “We don’t have approval on scripts—only money,” the Colonel explained. “Anyway what’s Elvis need? A couple of songs, a little story and some nice people with him. We start telling people what to do and they blame us if the picture doesn’t go. As it is, we both take bows and if it doesn’t hit maybe they get more blame than us. Anyway, what do I know about production?—nothing."

For those who feel the need to assign blame for Elvis’s less than stellar Hollywood career, there are several suspects more worthy of guilt than Colonel Parker. Let’s start with Elvis himself. He signed every one of those Hollywood contracts with the full knowledge that he would have no creative input. In fact, by the end of 1962, Elvis had decided that starring in light-weight musical comedies was his proper role in Hollywood. He stated as much to writer Lloyd Shearer on the set of It Happened At the World’s Fair in late 1962.

“I’ve had intellectuals tell me,” Presley told Shearer, “that I’ve got to progress as an actor, explore new horizons, take on new challenges, all that routine. I’d like to progress. But I’m smart enough to realize that you can’t bite off more than you can chew in this racket. You can’t go beyond your limitations.

“They want me to try an artistic picture. That’s fine. Maybe I can pull it off some day. But not now. I’ve done 11 pictures, and they’ve all made money. A certain type of audience likes me. I entertain them with what I’m doing. I’d be a fool to tamper with that kind of success. It’s ridiculous to take it on my own and say I’m going to appeal to a different type of audience, because I might not. Then if I goof, I’m all washed up, because they don’t give you many chances in this business. If you’re doing all right, you better keep at it until time itself changes things.”

Next in line to blame for Elvis’s unpretentious movies are the studio executives and producers. They learned early on that they could make a lot more money starring Elvis in light musical comedies than in dramatic roles. They learned that lesson in 1960, when G.I. Blues and Flaming Star came out within a month of each other during the holiday season. The head-to-head battle of Presley films was one-sided. G.I. Blues reached as high as number two on Variety’s weekly list of top-grossing films and finished 14th in the publication’s list of annual box-office ratings. Flaming Star, by comparison, peaked at number 12 in the weekly listings and finished far down among the year’s top grossers.

The 11 songs in G.I. Blues fed sales of the film’s successful soundtrack album, which, in turn led to multiple viewings of the film by the Presley faithful. With nothing more than a title song and a jig in Flaming Star, there was no such payoff in the record stores. Then, when Blue Hawaii again paid off doubly big the following year, both studio execs and Elvis himself realized that there would be no more of this “serious actor” stuff in Elvis’s future.

That leads us to the third group responsible for the kind of movies Elvis made—his own fans. We flocked to theaters to see films like Blue Hawaii, Viva Las Vegas, and Girl Happy. We weren’t nearly as interested in films like Flaming Star, Wild in the Country, and Charro!.

Colonel Parker did play a role in the situation by demanding so much money for Elvis to appear in a movie. When a studio had to pony up $1 million just to get Elvis, why in the world would they put him in a serious role when his previous dramatic films had done poorly at the box office? If Elvis and the Colonel had been willing to accept less money up front, maybe the studios might have been willing to risk placing him in more artistic pictures.

Finally, lest some begin to doubt my admiration for Elvis, let me dispel any such notion. I was an Elvis fan in his movie years, and I’m still one today. I just happen to believe that, ultimately, Elvis was responsible for both the good and poor decisions made in his personal and professional lives. Is it fair to credit him for all the great accomplishments in his career, but then blame Colonel Parker for those decisions that didn’t turn out so well? Let’s let Elvis take it all on his shoulders. Even though on one level he was a superstar among superstars, on another level he was just as human as his millions of fans. — Alan Hanson

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